GEOBGE  CAED¥ELL; 


OB, 


n 


BY    N.    P.    MORGAN. 


"  But  If  any  provide  not  fijp  ht»  own,  »nd  especially  for  tho»e  of  his  own  house,  he  hath  denied 
the  faith,  and  U  worse  than  an  infidel."— Tm.,  v.  g. 


NEW    YORK: 

RUSSELL'S  AMERICAN  STEAM  PRINTING  HOUSE  PRESSES, 
28   30  AKD  32  CENTR?  STREET. 

1866. 


ENTERED  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1856,  by 
N.    D.    MOBGAN, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York, 


"THE   PRACTICE  OP  LIFE    INSURANCE  IN  ANY    COUNTRY,  INDICATES  A  STATE 
OF    SOCIETY    WHERE     HIGH     MORAL     FEELINO    AND    COMMERCIAL     CONFIDENCE 

EXIST." — Jenkin  Jonct. 


"  BECArSE  I  DELIVERED  THE  POOB  THAT  CEIED,  AND  THE  FATHEBLE88, 
AND  HIM  THAT  HAT)  NONE  TO  HELP  HTM,  THE  BLESSING  OF  HIM  THAT  WAS 
READY  TO  PEKISH  CAME  UPON  ME  ;  AND  I  CAUSED  THE  WIDOW'S  HEABT  TC 
SING  FOB  JOT." — Job  XXlS.  11,  13. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Aim  of  the  "Writer — Want  of  Information  on  the  subject  of  Life 
Insurance — Its  applicability  to  the  every-day  wauts  of  life  not  appre- 
ciated— Advertisements  do  not  reach  the  minds  of  the  people — 
Literature  of  Life  Insurance — Price,  Pocock,  De  Morgan — Writers 
Invited  to  the  work — Educate  the  School-boy. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Meeting  of  Mr.  Pendletou.  and  Judge  Mason — Sad  Information — 
Paying  off  Mortgage — Death  of  George  Cardwell — Arrangements 
for  the  Funeral — What  Judge  Mason  thinks  of  Life  Insurance — Was 
George  Cardwell's  life  Insured  ? — Rich  Estates. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Mr.  Pendleton  leaves  the  Judge — Mr.  Pendleton  talks  with  his 
•wife  about  Insuring  his  Life — No  Encouragement  from  that  quar- 
ter— Mr.  Pendleton  passes  an  uneasy  night — Determines  not  to  pass 
another  such — Goes  to  the  Village,  and  while  there  Insures  his  Life — 
Judge  Mason  and  Mr.  Goodlove — Practical  Christian — Causes  of 
Crime — Remedy. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Day  of  the  Funeral — The  Church — The  Sermon — Mr.  Pendleton's 
Secret — Mr.  P.  "set"  in  his  ways — Burning  of  his  Barn — Running 
in  Debt. 


TABLE     OF     CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

House  of  Mr.  Pendleton  after  the  Funeral  of  George  Cardwell — 
Mrs.  Pendleton's  consent  to  an  Insurance  on  the  Life  of  her  Hus- 
band— Too  iate  to  Disapprove — Mr.  Pendleton  Insured — Joy  of  the 
Couple — Happy  Evening — Family  Devotions — Not  Afraid  to  Die. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Keeping  an  Appointment — The  Judge's  Library — "Words  on  Life 
Insurance — No  New  Thing  Under  the  Sun — Cost  of  Insurance  Well 
Thought  of — Pious  Fraud — Forgiveness — Mr.  Pendleton  Eloquent — 
Congratulation. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  House  of  the  "Widow  Cardwell — Character  of  the  Wife  of 
George  Cardwell — Responsibility  of  a  Mother — Doing  a  Duty — 
George  Cardwell,  at  the  suggestion  of  his  Wife,  Insures  his  Life — 
Payment  of  the  Policy — Payment  of  the  Mortgage — Money  in  Bank 
— Happy  Family. 


CHAPTER 

Change  of  Scene — Death-bed  of  Judge  Mason — Family  Affairs — 
Nancy  Mason — The  Orphans — Funeral  of  the  Judge. 


APPENDIX. 

Insurance  of  the  Lives  of  Clergymen — Crime  and  its  Causes — 
Relief  for  Widows  and  Orphans — Bibliographic  Catalogue  of  Works 
on  Life  Insurance,  &a 


PREFACE  TO  THE  THIRD  EDITION. 


IT  is  now  ten  years  since  the  First  Edition  of 
several  thousand  copies  of  "  GEORGE  CARDWELL  "  was 
published ;  since  then  the  subject,  the  operations  of 
which  it  was  the  design  of  the  writer,  in  a  familiar 
manner,  to  portray,  has  grown  from  a  comparatively 
small  and  delicate  plant  to  a  great  and  sturdy  oak, 
its  roots  deep  in  the  soil,  and  its  giant  limbs  extend- 
ing over  the  entire  land,  protecting  with  their  refreshing 
shelter  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  from  the 
scorching  and  withering  blasts  of  adversity. 

What  amount  of  influence  this  little  work  has  ex- 
erted in  bringing  about  so  desirable  a  consummation, 
it  may  be  difficult  to  determine,  and  to  claim  that 
it  has  done  anything  in  that  direction,  may,  to  those 
who  read  this  Preface,  seem  egotistical.  But  as  the 
old  saw  of  "nothing  venture,  nothing  have,"  is  as  much 
the  property  of  him  who  is  foolish  enough  to  write 
a  book  as  of  anybody  else,  a  claim  is  ventured  that 
it  has  done  something  towards  educating  a  certain  class 
of  minds  up  to  the  point  of  believing  that  the  prac- 

1* 


10  PREFACE. 

tice  of  Life  Insurance  is  not  only  not  wicked  but 
wise,  humane  and  Christian.  It  may  be  interesting 
to  those  who  care  to  know  to  what  "  vast  propor- 
tions "  the  system  has  grown  in  this  country,  to  ex- 
amine the  statistics  printed  in  the  Appendix,  as  also 
some  Legislative  enactments  designed  to  promote  and 
perpetuate  the  institution. 

The  two  large  editions  printed  ten  years  ago  have 
long  since  been  exhausted,  and  constant  application 
being  made  for  copies  of  the  work,  the  author  has 
consented  to  respond  to  the  call,  with  the  single 
object  of  doing  all  in  his  power  towards  aiding  a 
work  in  which  he  has  been  engaged  for  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century. 


INTRODUCTION. 


IN  PRESENTING  to  the  public  the  following  pages,  it 
has  been  the  sole  aim  of  the  writer  to  render  to  that 
public  a  benefit,  convinced  that  if  the  public  mind  can 
be  directed  or  induced  to  consider  the  importance  of 
Life  Insurance,  hundreds,  nay,  thousands  will  be  found 
ready  and  anxious  to  avail  themselves  of  the  safe- 
guard vouchsafed  to  them  by  this  eminently  moral, 
humane,  and  Christian  Institution. 

That  more  have  not  already  enrolled  themselves 
as  members  of  Life  Assurance  Associations,  is  because 
the  community  are  not  advised  of  the  advantages  to 
be  derived  from  such  investment 

In  those  sections  of  the  country  where  Life  Insu- 
rance is  now  most  practised,  the  subject  is  but  im- 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

perfectly  understood,  and  among  the  most  enlightened 
and  best  educated — those  who  may  be  supposed  to 
understand  the  subject  scientifically — its  applicability 
to  the  every-day  wants  of  the  community  is  to  a 
great  extent  unappreciated. 

It  is  not  the  fault  of  the  people  that  they  do  not 
comprehend  the  working  of  a  system  of  which  they 
have  but  scarcely  heard.  The  business  cards  of  the 
several  Institutions,  which  from  day  to  day  appear 
in  the  newspapers,  are  passed  over  by  the  general 
reader  as  a  matter  not  demanding  attention  The 
handsomely  printed  "  Prospectus "  so  extensively  cir- 
culated, is  looked  upon  with  out  little  more  favor, 
and  is  cast  aside  among  the  thousand  and  one  simi- 
lar documents  of  an  advertising  character. 

Life  Insurance,  however,  is  not  without  a  litera- 
ture, and  however  small  claim  this  little  effort  may 
have  to  take  a  place  in  any  department,  the  writer 
is  proud  to  say  that  the  subject  is  not  unworthy  of 
treatment  by  no  mean  pen.  A  Price,  a  Pocock,  a 
De  Morgan,  and  many  others,  have  done  much  to 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

enlighten  the  world  on  this  most  interesting  and  all- 
important  subject.  But  their  works  are  of  a  scien- 
tific character,  and  wholly  unsuited  to  the  wants  of 
the  general  reader  The  subject,  therefore,  is  in  need 
of  a  literature  of  a  popular  character,  and  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  its  importance  will,  at  no  distant  day, 
stimulate  some  friend  of  humanity  to  devote  the 
talent  which  he  may  possess  in  producing  a  popular 
treatise  here  suggested. 

This  little  volume,  of  course,  makes  no  pretensions 
in  such  direction.  It  is  put  forth,  however,  not 
without  hope  that  it  may,  in  the  "  changes  and 
chances,"  fall  upon  some  patches  of  "  good  soil," 
spring  up,  and  bring  forth  fruit  an  hundred  fold — 
that  it  may  be  like  the  seed  of  faith,  springing 
into  a  goodly  tree,  with  branches  wide-spreading, 
and  protecting  from  the  blasts  of  adversity  the 
widows  and  orphaned  sons  and  daughters  of  our 
land — that  it  may  be  the  beginning  of  a  new  era, 
and  the  advent  of  an  extended  and  systematic  adop- 
tion of  the  principle,  that  to  every  man  whose  in- 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

come  depends  on  his  own  life  or  exertions,  and  on 
whom  others  are  dependent  for  support,  an  insurance 
on  his  life  is  a  paramount  duty. 

Let  this  principle  be  inculcated  hi  our  schools,  and 
our  sons  and  daughters  who  are  soon  to  be  fathers 
and  mothers,  will  understand  their  duty  to  them- 
selves, their  family,  their  neighbor  and  their  God. 


GEORGE  CARDWELL; 

OR, 

tit  a  Country  || 

-'V^-V^-^^^^^.^B.^^^*— N^v^^Nrf-t^^^- 

CHAPTER    I. 


IT  was  on  a  sharp  frosty  morning  in  early  Novem- 
ber tnat  Mr.  Pendleton,  with  down-cast  looks,  and 
quick  nervous  movement,  passed  up  the  leaf-covered 
avenue  leading  to  the  old  family  mansion  of  Judge 
Mason.  Approaching  the  entrance  he  was  accosted 
by  the  Judge  with  a  frank 

"  Good  morning,  Mr.  Pendleton :  where  have  you 
been  so  early,  and  why  so  sober  ?" 

"  Good  morning,  Judge :  well  may  you  ask,  why 
so  sober.  I  am  just  returning  from  our  neighbor 
Cardwell,  who,  but  an  hour  since,  breathed  his  last. 
Have  you  not  heard,  Judge,  of  the  sad  accident  which 
occurred  yesterday,  in  the  family  of  our  nearest 
neighbor  ?" 


16  GEORGE    CARDWELL  ;     OR, 

V 

"Why  not  a  word  of  it.  Pray,  what  has  hap- 
pened ?" 

"  Is  it  possible  that  you  are  not  informed  of  the 
terrible  circumstance  of  yesterday?  But  then  I  sup- 
pose they  were  so  much  occupied  with  running  for 
a  Doctor,  and  such  like,  they  had  no  time  to  come 
up  here.  And,  indeed,  had  I  not  been  passing  the 
house  at  the  time,  I  should  probably  have  been 
as  ignorant  as  yourself,  Judge,  of  the  great  ca- 
lamity. 

"  Not  a  word  of  it. — not  a  word  of  it.  Pray, 
proceed." 

"Well,  Judge,  you  know  that  Mr.  Cardwell  was 
about  paying  off  the  mortgage  on  his  little  place, 
and  had  called  in  his  money  which  he  had  loaned 
out  among  his  neighbors ;  I  myself  owed  him  three 
hundred  dollars,  which  I  paid  only  last  Monday. — 
Well,  you  know  he  was  about  paying  off  the  mort- 
gage—" 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Pendleton,  I  was  aware  of  that, — I  was 
aware  of  that.  Pray,  Mr.  Pendleton,  go  on, — go 
on." 

"  Well,  he  had  just  packed  up  his  money,  and, 
while  changing  his  coat,  laid  it  on  the  mantle-shelf, 
when,  by  some  accident  or  other,  the  package  was 
knocked  off  the  shelf  into  the  great  blazing  fire,  and 
in  the  attempt  of  Mr.  Cardwell,  poor  fellow,  to  ex- 
tricate and  save  his  money,  he  was  most  awfully 


A    MONTH   IN   A   COUNTRY    PARISH.  17 

burned  in  his  hands  and  wrists,  which,  after  a  night 
of  agony,  caused  his  death  but  an  hour  since." 

"  Why,  Mr.  Pendleton,  you  pain  me  beyond  mea- 
sure with  this  sad  story.  Poor  fellow,  indeed, — 
poor  fellow,  indeed, — after  having  striven  for  more 
than  five  years  to  save  up  the  money  to  clear  his 
little  place,  to  have  the  fond  hopes  of  his  family 
blasted  at  one  fell  swoop." 

"  Yes,  Judge,  it's  a  sad  business,  indeed.  I  really 
do  not  know  what  will  be  done  by  the  disconsolate 
widow,  who  you  know,  has  now  six  young  children, 
and  among  them  no  boys  old  enough  to  take  charge 
of  the  farm.  George  is,  I  believe,  only  eleven.  I 
am  sure  my  heart  bleeds  for  them,  but  I  am  almost 
wholly  unable  to  aid  them,  except  with  words  of  en- 
couragement and  advice." 

"Truly,  Mr.  Pendleton,  they  are  in  the  midst  of 
great  affliction,  and  we  must  do  what  we  can  for 
the  widow  and  the  orphan,  and  we  must  not  allow 
our  good  intentions  and  sympathy  to  remain  inope- 
rative after  the  remains  of  our  friend  and  neighbor 
are  placed  in  the  silent  grave.  When  is  the  funeral 
to  take  place,  Mr.  Pendleton?" 

"I  can't  say  for  certain,  but  I  recommended  to- 
morrow, at  four  o'clock,  and  I  told  Mrs.  Cardwell 
that  I  would  consult  you  about  it, — and  if  you  thought 
best  it  would  be  fixed  for  that  hour.  What  is  your 
opinion,  Judge,  about  it1?" 


18  GEORGE  CARDWELL;   OR, 

"  A  very  proper  hour.  Will  you  attend  to  the 
arrangements  ?" 

"Yes,  Judge,  I  will  arrange  all,  if  you  will  take 
upon  yourself  the  seeing  Mr.  Goodlove.  Mr.  Card- 
well,  you  know,  for  the  sake  of  his  wife's  feelings, 
always  went  to  the  church,  although  he  himself  was 
not  a  communicant ; — but  somehow.  Judge,  I  always 
thought  he  was  at  heart  a  churchman." 

"  Very  likely ;  his  father  was  a  churchman,  as  was 
also  his  mother  a  churchwoman,  and  distinguished  for 
her  great  personal  piety.  You  never  knew  the  Card- 
well  family,  I  take  it,  Mr.  Pendleton.  Excellent 
people, — excellent  people." 

"  No,  Judge,  my  acquaintance  with  the  family  ex- 
tends only  to  that  of  our  departed  friend.  Speaking 
of  Church  matters,  Judge,  did  you  know  whether  Mr. 
Cardwell*  ever  insured  his  life  ?  You  know  he  was 
very  active  in  securing  the  insurance  on  the  life  of 
our  minister,  Mr.  Goodlove ;  of  course,  you  are 
aware  of  his  instrumentality  in  that  matter,  for  I  saw 
your  name  down  for  twenty  dollars,  and  although  I 
am  not  a  rich  man,  and  so  able  to  give  as  some 
others,  I  was  prompted  to  give  half  that  sum  for 
the  sake  of  our  good  pastor,  notwithstanding  I  knew 
but  little  of  the  subject.  But  I  was  going  to  say, 
that  the  thought  has  occurred  to  me,  since  I  left  his 
house,  that,  as  Mr.  Cardwell  had  taken  so  much  inte- 
rest in  the  family  of  our  Rector,  perhaps  he  had 


A    MONTH    IN   A    COUNTRY    PARISH.  19 

taken  the  same  in  his  own,  and  secured  a  like  in- 
surance on  his  own  life." 

"Now  you  make  mention  of  it,  Mr.  Pendleton,  I 
do  remember  of  his  having  spoken  to  me  on  the 
subject  of  Life  Insurance,  asking  my  opinion  regard- 
ing his  own  case.  This  was  two  years  since,  if  I 
remember  rightly." 

"  Well,  Judge,  what  was  your  opinion  in  his  case, 
and  what  is  your  opinion  in  my  case  1  I  have  been 
thinking  about  it,  and  have  thought  some  time  I  would 
come  up  and  have  a  talk  with  you  on  the  subject." 

"  What  do  I  think  about  it  ?  Why,  my  good  friend, 
I  am  surprised  that  any  difference  of  opinion  can 
exist  on  a  subject  so  manifestly  advantageous,  not  only 
to  individuals  but  to  the  community, — I'm  surprised, 
I'm  surprised.  My  experience  as  a  Magistrate,  my 
experience  as  a  Probate  Judge,  has  made  me  fa- 
miliar with  the  causes  of  crime  and  poverty,  —  or 
rather  poverty  and  crime, — for  in  nine  cases  out  of 
ten  crime  follows  poverty.  What,  then,  should  be 
my  opinion  of  a  system  which,  if  universal,  would 
banish  from  our  land  nine  tenths  of  the  crime  which 
now  engages  our  courts  of  law,  taxing  our  people, 
and  bringing  misery  upon  the  innocent  heads  of  mil- 
lions of  the  children  of  the  poverty-stricken  and  de- 
praved? I  told  Mr.  Cardwell,  sir,  to  lose  no  time 
in  effecting  an  insurance  upon  his  life  for  a  sum  at 
least  sufficient  to  pay  off  his  mortgage,  and  he  told 


20  GEORGE  CARDWELL;   OR, 

me  he  should  do  it.  He  was  a  man  of  his  word, 
tmd  I  shall  at  once  go  down  and  look  into  it,  foi 
I  am  certain  his  life  was  insured.  Let  me  say  to 
you,  my  good  friend,  that  if  you  are  in  debt  for  your 
place,  or  for  anything  else,  go  and  insure  your  life 
for  the  amount,  and  for  as  much  more  as  you  can 
safely  calculate  your  ability  to  meet  the  annual  pre- 
mium. And  if  it  will  be  any  satisfaction  to  you,  I 
will  inform  you  that  my  own  life  is  insured  for  a  sum 
sufficient  to  pay  for  the  education  of  my  three  grand- 
children, orphans  of  my  son,  John  Marshall." 

"You  surprise  me  when  you  tell  me  your  life  is 
insured.  I  should  think  that  a  man  of  your  age 
would  have  to  pay  so  high  a  rate  of  premium  as 
to  render  inoperative  the  alleged  advantages  of  the 
system, — or,  that  you  were  possessed  of  so  much  of 
the  world's  goods  as  to  satisfy  you,  and  spare  from 
your  estate  a  sum  sufficient  to  endow  your  grand- 
children with  a  fortune." 

"  Don't  be  deceived  by  appearances,  Mr.  Pendle- 
ton.  As  I  said  before,  my  experience  in  probate  has 
put  me  in  possession  of  facts  in  regard  to  the  set- 
tlement of  estates,  which  teach  me  that  little  confi- 
dence can  be  placed  in  appearances.  Many  of  our 
richest  estates  in  this  county  it  has  been  my  busi- 
ness to  close,  and  but  few  are  found  free  from,  en- 
cumbrance of  a  serious  nature.  And,  as  regards  my 
age  in  effecting  insurance  on  my  life,  rendering  the 


A   MONTH   IN   A   COUNTRY   PARISH.  21 

advantage  less  than  at  a  younger  age,  you  must  more 
fully  understand  the  system.  Time  will  not  allow 
for  a  full  illustration,  and  we  will,  with  your  per- 
mission, postpone  the  discussion  until  after  the  funeral 
of  our  friend,  when  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  exhibit 
to  you,  in  my  library,  numerous  works  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  explain  the  whole  matter  to  you.  And  I 
shall  be  the  more  happy  to  do  so,  because  if  I  pre- 
vail upon  you  to  insure  your  life,  I  shall  feel  con- 
scious of  having  done  you  a  personal  favor,  and 
performed  a  neighborly  duty ;  and  which  act  of 
duty  is  certain  to  be  blessed  from  the  very  nature 
of  the  subject,  the  mutability  of  all  things  human, 
growing  out  of  the  declaration  of  God: — 'dust  thou 
art,  and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return.'  I  shall  now 
go  down  to  the  Cardwell's,  calling  upon  Mr.  Good- 
love  on  the  way.  Good  morning, — good  morning." 

"  Good  morning,  Judge.  I  shall  keep  you  to  your 
engagement  in  regard  to  that  Life  Insurance  busi- 
ness, for  I  feel  that  I  ought  to  be  insured,  and  can 
hardly  wait  to  be  convinced.  Good  morning." 


22  GEORGE    CARDWELL  1     OB, 


CHAPTER    II. 

MR.  PENDLETON  leaves  the  Judge,  and  spends  the 
day  in  preparation  for  the  funeral ;  but  his  mind  is 
ill  at  ease  about  that  insurance.  He  talked  with 
his  wife  about  it,  and  she  did  not  give  him  much 
encouragement.  She  can't  see  what  right  a  man  has 
to  fight  Providence ;  Mr.  Goodlove  may  explain  it, 
but  she  can't  see  into  it.  Poor  Mr.  Pendleton  can't 
sleep  for  thinking  of  the  hair-breadth  escapes  he  has 
had.  Once  in  the  woods  chopping,  when  the  tree 
fell  so  near  him  as  to  crush  his  foot;  and  the  last 
spring,  in  shingling  the  barn,  what  a  narrow  escape 
that  was, — only  saved  by  being  caught  in  the  bight 
of  the  rope  used  in  hoisting  up  the  shingles.  Twenty 
times  in  the  course  of  the  night  did  he  start,  imagin- 
ing himself  falling  from  some  lofty  scaffold,  or  about 
being  crushed  beneath  some  giant  night-mare;  and 
Mr.  Pendleton  was  no  coward,  but  the  bravest  of 
men.  He  knew  his  -duty  when  courage  was  needed, 
and  never  shrank  from  it.  He  also  knew  his  situa- 
tion in  regard  to  money  matters,  and  he  too  well 


A    MONTH    IN    A   COUNTRY   PARISH.  23 

knew  what  would  be  the  condition  of  his  family, 
should  one  of  the  events  happen  which  were  crowd- 
ing on  his  imagination.  He  determined  that  another 
such  night  should  not  be  passed  by  him,  and,  al- 
though he  did  not  altogether  understand  how  it  work- 
ed, he  was  determined  that  in  the  morning,  when 
in  the  village,  (where  he  had  to  go  for  the  coffin,) 
he  would  at  once  insure  his  life,  and  afterwards 
go  to  the  Judge  and  be  "convinced;"  "converted," 
said  he,  "I  am  already.  I  am  satisfied  that  it  is 
my  duty,  therefore  I  have  but  one  way  to  pursue. 
Curiosity,  and  a  desire  for  information,  may  be  satis- 
fied at  another  time." 

In  this  state  of  mind  Mr.  Peudleton  started  for 
the  village,  leaving  his  wife  in  the  meantime  to  as- 
sist in  arranging  the  house  of  the  mourners. 

Judge  Mason,  after  parting  with  Mr.  Pendleton,  as 
before  related,  called  at  the  Parsonage  to  see  Mr. 
Goodlove,  but  learned  that  he  had  just  gone  down 
to  the  Cardwell's,  having  been  informed  of  the  casu- 
alty. The  Judge,  after  taking  leave  of  the  wife  of 
the  kind  rector,  proceeded  to  the  house  of  mourn- 
ing, where  he  found  Mr.  Goodlove  and  some  two  or 
three  neighbors. 

After  giving  some  advice  regarding  the  obsequies 
of  the  next  day,  he  handed  his  reverend  friend  into 
his  gig,  and  proceeded  to  the  village,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ascertaining  about  the  insurance,  which  he 


24  GEORGE    CAKDWELL  ;     OR, 

felt  certain  had  been  effected  on  the  life  of  his 
friend,  George  Cardwell. 

The  books  of  the  insurance  Agency  were  freely 
shown  to  the  Judge,  and  the  name  of  George  Card- 
well  was  found  duly  recorded,  insured  for  Two 
THOUSAND  .DOLLARS,  with  the  premiums  all  promptly 
paid. 

"J'ust  as  I  expected,"  said  the  Judge,  as  he  hand- 
ed his  reverend  friend  into  his  gig.  "  George  was  a 
sensible,  clever  man ;  I  wish  there  were  more  like 
him.  Then  would  the  hearth  of  the  widow  be  safe 
from  the  tread  of  the  Sheriff,  and  the  cry  of  the  or- 
phan be  hushed.  A  good  practical  Christian,  Mr. 
Goodlove,  who  provides  for  his  own  household." 

"Yes,  Judge,  I  have  no  reason  to  find  fault  with 
our  deceased  brother.  He  was  a  good  practical 
Christian, — one  who  made  no  ostentatious  display  of 
piety,  but  whose  works  were  of  an  efficient  and  tell- 
ing nature.  But,  Judge,  I  think  I  detect  a  double 
meaning  to  your  remark  in  relation  to  a  '  practical 
Christian,'  and,  if  I  am  right,  you  do  our  departed 
friend  injustice,  for  he  not  only  practised  Christianity, 
but  professed  it  before  men  also ;  a  fact  of  which 
you  are  probably  not  aware,  inasmuch  as  his  public 
profession  is  of  but  recent  date,  and  took  place  but 
two  weeks  since — just  previous  to  your  return  from 
Europe. 

"Indeed?      Then    I    did    do    him    injustice,    and    I 


A   MONTH    IN   A    COUNTRY   PARISH.  25 

confess  to  the  impeachment  of  a  double  meaning ;  but 
I  did  it  to  draw  you  out  on  a  point  of  some  con- 
troversy." 

"  Well,  Judge,  let  us  see.  This  man  who  has  gone 
to  his  rest  has  done,  in  the  act  of  insuring  his  life, 
what?  a  bad  deed?  No.  He  has  insured  his  life; 
for  that  is  the  point  on  which  this  controversy  is 
based.  He  has  insured  his  life  for  the  benefit  of 
his  widow  and  orphan  children.  This  has  he  done 
entirely  for  the  benefit  of  others,  not  one  particle 
of  benefit  can  possibly  inure  to  himself.*  Indeed, 
he  deprives  himself  of  many  hard-earned  dollars  every 
year,  that  he  may  do  good  to  others.  Certainly, 
selfishness  has  nothing  to  do  in  this  matter.  A  more 
unselfish  act  can  hardly  be  conceived.  This  act,  then, 
is  a  good  one.  He  has  done  a  good  work,  a  Chris- 
tian deed,  Christian  because  Christ-like, — not  from  a 
love  of  Christ,  or  because  the  objects  of  the  deed 
are  of  the  '  household  of  Christ ;'  of  these  things  he 
may  know  nothing.  It  is  enough  that  he  is  anxious 
to  do  good.  God  has  endowed  hint  with  intelligence, 
and  he  has  used  that  intelligence  in  a  work  of  mercy, 
that  great  attribute  of  the  Almighty.  He  has,  so  far 
as  human  judgment  can  determine,  saved  that  family 
from  penury,  and  in  doing  this  has,  without  doubt, 


*  See  Appendix. 
o 


26  GEORGE    CARDWELL  ;     OR, 

guarded,  if  not  saved,  the  younger  portion  from  crime, 
which,  in  so  many  instances,  follows  close  on  the  heels 
of  poverty.  I  say  then,  that  if  our  friend  has  used 
that  intelligence  which  God  has  given  him  to  such  a 
result,  his  work  is  blessed,  and  we  poor  mortals  are 
not  allowed  to  judge  the  result  to  his  immortal  soul." 
"I  understand  you,  Mr.  Goodlove,  Mr.  Cardwell 
has  done  his  duty  to  his  family,  and  to  the  com- 
munity,— all  praiseworthy  acts, — but,  after  all,  comes 
short  of  his  whole  duty,  inasmuch  as  his  acts  are 
not  prompted  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  therefore 
are  not  counted  unto  him  for  righteousness." 

"  As  I  said  before,  we  are  not  allowed  to  judge 
of  the  effect  upon  the  soul  of  any  act  of  man.  Pos- 
sessed of  such  power  or  right  to  judge,  works  alone 
would  be  all-sufficient.  It  is  always  safe  to  do  well, 
and  our  constant  aim  should  be  to  advance  in  the  right 
direction;  for  in  that  way,  and  that  alone,  can  we 
ever  reach  the  goal.  The  very  effort  to  reach  a  goal 
is  a  confession  tjjat  a  goal  exists ;  and  as  none  will 
exhibit  anxiety  to  obtain  other  than  an  agreeable  ter- 
mination to  their  pilgrimage,  certainly  they  must  do 
works  meet  for  such  result.  My  views  of  the  whole 
matter  may  be  expressed  in  this  wise.  No  man 
does  a  good  action,  (unalloyed  with  selfish  motives, 
and  the  good  the  only  object,)  without  the  grace  of 
God  prompting;  and,  therefore,  our  friend,  in  insu- 


A   MONTH   IN   A    COUNTRY   PARISH.  27 

ring  his  life,  did  so  with  these  conditions ;  ergo,  the 
grace  of  God  was  operative  in  his  case,  as  the  se- 
quel of  his  life  proves." 

"  I  agree  with  you,  Mr.  Goodlove,  touching  the 
grace  of  God  prompting  to  good  actions  with  proper 
motives.  It  is  the  devil  who  prompts  to  good  ac- 
tions from  improper  motives." 

"  Did  I  understand  you  to  say,  that  in  a  majority 
of  cases,  your  experience  as  a  Pastor  has  confirmed 
you  in  the  belief  that  crime  is  the  immediate  conse- 
quence of  poverty  ?" 

"I  so  stated,  and  such  is  my  firm  conviction.  .Take 
away  poverty,  and  give  only  competence,  and  the 
incentives  to  virtue  are  increased  ninety-fold.  What 
is  the  experience  of  Mr.  Pease,  at  the  Five  Points, 
in  the  city  of  New- York  ?  Ask  the  criminals  them- 
selves, located  in  that  hot-bed  of  iniquity.  Did  any 
of  them  jump  into  crime  from  a  position  of  com- 
petence 1  Take  my  own  parish,  here  in  the  virtuous 
'  Rural  Districts,'  and  what  is  the  picture  ?  Every 
case  of  crime  under  the  law  has  been  induced  by 
poverty.  Intemperance  induces  poverty,  but  poverty 
does  /lot  always  involve  crime.  We  have  in  our 
own  church  an  '  abundance '  of  the  poor  always  with 
us, — noble  examples  of  Christian  faith  and  practice. 
But,  Judge,  your  experience  as  a  Magistrate  must 
have  afforded  you  a  favorable  opportunity  for  form- 


28  GEORGE    CARDWELL  ;     OR, 

ing   an   opinion  on  this  important  subject  of  cause  and 
effect." 

"  Yes,  it  has,  and  I  freely  concur  with  you,  that 
poverty,  no  matter  from  what  cause,  is  the  great 
parent  of  crime  ;  and  that  the  only  way  to  effectually 
stop  crime  is  to  stop  poverty ;  and  the  best  way 
to  prevent  poverty  is  by  the  intelligent  and  systematic 
use  of  Life  Insurance" 

"  I  think  with  you,  Judge,  that  Life  Insurance  is 
a  powerful  lever  in  the  great  work  of  ameliorating 
the  condition  of  the  people.  I  am  informed  that, 
during  the  two  years  last  past,  the  enormous  sum 
of  eleven  hundred  thousand  dollars  was  paid  to  widows 
and  orphans  in  the  State  of  New- York  alone.*  That 
this  sum  had  been  the  means  of  keeping  alive  the 
cheerful  blaze  on  more  than  five  hundred  hearth- 
stones, clothing,  feeding,  and  educating  more  than 
twenty-seven  hundred  fatherless  orphans.  By-the-by, 
Judge,  should  not  our  excellent  friend,  Mr.  Pendleton, 
insure  his  life  ?  I  have  heard  that  the  repairs  on 
his  farm-buildings,  partially  destroyed  by  fire  last 
winter,  have  involved  him  in  a  considerable  debt, 
which,  should  he  die,  would  hazard  the  possessjpn  of 
his  farm  to  his  family." 


*  See  Appendix. 


A   MONTH   IN   A    COUNTRY   PARISH.  29 

"  I  have  this  very  morning  been  talking  with  him 
on  the  subject,  and  am  to  have  a  further  conference 
with  him  in  a  day  or  two,  at  my  house,  by  special 
appointment." 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  it,  and  trust  you  may 
convince  him  of  the  propriety,  nay,  duty,  of  imme- 
diately '  setting  his  house  in  order,'  for  an  event 
which,  in  the  providence  of  God,  may  come  upon 
him  in  an  hour  he  thinKS  not  of." 

Our  worthy  Pastor,  with  his  learned  friend  and 
churchwarden,  had  reached  the  gate  which  excluded 
from  the  glebe  the  stray  cattle  which,  in  the  rustic 
village,  were  suffered  to  run  at  large.  Mr.  Good- 
love  alighted,  and  shaking  warmly  the  hand  of  Judge 
Mason,  the  two  friends  parted :  the  Parson  to  his 
study,  the  Judge  to  his  office. — the  Rector  to  pre- 
pare for  the  solemnities  of  the  morrow,  the  Judge 
to  devise  some  plan  to  benefit  his  neighbor. 

Judge  Mason  was  a  good  man,  of  one  of  the 
oldest  families  in  the  county,  and  possessed  of  a 
moderate  fortune  in  his  own  right,  with  a  life  interest 
in  the  valuable  estate  on  which  he  resided.  He  was 
full  of  benevolence  and  kindly  feeling,  a  firm  believer 
in  the  Christian  religion,  zealous  in  works  of  mercy 
and  charity,  and  never  ceasing  in  efforts  to  do  gftod. 


30  GEORGE    CARDWELL  ;     OR, 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE  day  of  the  funeral  found  our  friends  all  pre- 
sent at  the  house  of  mourning,  and  at  the  church. 

The  deep-toned  organ  poured  forth  a  solemn  strain, 
as  the  funeial  procession  entered  the  western  door, 
and  passed  up  the  nave  to  the  open  space  under 
the  chancel  arch. 

Fitful  streams  of  colored  light  played  upon  the 
vestments  of  the  clergymen  as  they  ascended  the 
steps  of  the  chancel ;  and  when  the  remains  of  the 
dead  rested  in  their  place,  but  a  few  feet  from  the 
spot  where  so  recently  the  living  man  had  knelt  to 
receive  the  bread  of  life,  voices  from  an  invisible 
choir  was  heard  to  sing,  "  Lord,  let  me  know  my 
end,  and  the  number  of  my  days,  that  I  may  be 
certified  how  long  I  have  to  live." 

The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Eector,  who  re- 
cited passages  in  the  history  of  the  good  man  de- 
parted, which  showed  him  a  man  of  deep-seated 
piety,  whose  every  effort  was  to  do  his  duty  in  his 
generation,  and  in  the  sphere  in  which  it  had  pleased 
God  to  place  him. 


A   MONTH    IN   A    COUNTRY    PARISH.  31 

The  preacher  could  not  allow  the  opportunity  to 
pass  without  alluding  to  the  provision  which  had  been 
made  by  the  deceased  for  the  protection  of  his  family 
in  the  possession  of  their  home  ;  and  in  doing  so 
could  but  urge  upon  all  others  to  go  and  do 
likewise, — not  as  a  worldly  measure  would  he  urge 
it,  but  as  one  of  far  more  importance,  hazarding,  in 
the  neglect,  the  interests  of  the  souls  of  children, 
and  men  and  women,  yet  unborn. 

He  thanked  the  people  of  his  parish  for  the  kind 
interest  manifested  in  his  own  case,  in  the  handsome 
donation  to  his  family  of  a  Policy  of  Insurance  on 
his  own  life,  procured,  as  he  had  reason  to  believe, 
by  the  instrumentality  of  his  departed  parishioner.* 

After  the  remains  of  Mr.  Cardwell  had  been  com- 
mitted to  the  tomb,  "dust  to  dust,  ashes  to  ashes, 
earth  to  earth,"  the  funeral  cortege,  as  is  usual  in 
the  country,  returned  to  the  now  lonely  home  of  the 
widow,  where  the  neighbors  took  kindly  leave  of  the 
afflicted  family,  and  departed  for  their  several  homes. 

On  the  way,  Judge  Mason  accosted  our  friend  Mr. 
Pendleton,  and  invited  him  to  stop  and  talk  over 
the  subject  of  Life  Insurance,  as  had  been  previously 
arranged.  But  Mr.  Pendleton  was  not  disposed  to 
stop  that  evening ;  his  feelings  were  of  too  happy  a 


*  See  Appendix. 


32  GEORGE    CARDWELL  ;     OR, 

nature  to  allow  him  to  wait.  He  wanted  to  hasten 
home,  and  show  to  his  wife  the  document  by  which 
he  had  secured  to  her  and  her  little  ones  a  sure 
refuge  in  the  hour  of  their  greatest  earthly  disaster. 

Mr.  Pendleton  had,  while  in  the  village,  effected 
an  insurance  on  his  life,  and  he  was  not  disposed  to 
tell  the  Judge  of  his  hasty  action,  desiring  to  appear 
somewhat  more  circumspect  in  a  transaction  of  so 
grave  a  character.  He,  therefore,  kept  his  secret, 
and,  bidding  the  Judge  a  good  evening,  hastened  to 
his  home. 

Mr.  Pendleton  was  a  farmer,  who  had  lived  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Judge  some  twelve  years,  having 
purchased  and  paid  for  the  farm  on  which  he  lived. 
He  was  of  strictly  temperate  and  industrious  habits, 
of  good  common  education,  and  a  churchman. 

Fond  of  accumulating  property, — not  for  the  sake 
of  accumulation  only,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  good  it  can 
be  made  to  accomplish, — Mr.  Pendleton  was  a  liberal 
man,  and  deemed  it  a  real  privilege  to  be  called 
upon  to  contribute  to  objects  of  charity,  and  was 
always  ready  to  respond  to  such  calls  to  the  full 
extent  of  his  ability.  Mr.  Pendleton,  however,  had 
some  faults  ;  and  who  has  not  ?  Mr.  Pendleton  was 
oftentimes  "  set "  in  his  ways.  He  never  would  in- 
sure his  house  or  his  barns.  He  did  not  believe  in 
it.  It  would  do  well  for  careless  people.  He  never 
allowed  a  lantern  to  go  into  his  stables ;  and  as  for 


A   MONTH    IN    A    COUNTRY    PARISH.  33 

the    house,    he    always    raked    up   the    fires   at  night 
himself. 

But,  with  all  his  care  and  caution,  his  barn  did 
get  on  fire,  and  his  house,  too  ;  and  the  repairs  cost 
him  the  good  bit  of  two  thousand  dollars,  for  which 
he  had  to  run  in  debt,  and  mortgage  his  farm.  It 
was  well  they  succeeded  in  saving  the  house,  with 
but  a  slight  damage  ;  for  had  the  house  been  de- 
stroyed, as  was  the  barn,  it  would  have  been  a  bad 
night's  job  for  our  farmer. 

Mr.  Pendleton  was  a  conscientious  man,  and  would 
not  do  a  thing  his  conscience  forbade  ;  nor  would 
he  leave  a  thing  undone,  when  convinced  of  the 
propriety  of  doing  it.  He  was,  therefore,  an  im- 
pulsive man  ;  and  hence  his  zeal  and  prompt  action 
in  effecting  an  insurance  on  his  life,  when  once  con- 
vinced of  his  duty  in  that  direction. 

Mr.  Pendleton  was  a  kind  and  provident  husband 
and  father,  and  his  heart  leaped  to  his  throat  as  he 
stepped  into  the  presence  of  his  wife  and  children 
on  his  return  from  the  funeral. 

Mrs.  Pendleton,  having  young  children,  did  not 
accompany  her  husband  to  the  house  of  Mrs.  Card- 
well,  but  after  the  services  at  the  church,  had,  with 
her  eldest  son,  a  lad  of  about  twelve  years  of  age, 
driven  directly  home. 

2* 


34  GEORGE    CARDWELL  ;     OR, 


CHAPTER    IV. 

"WELL,  Mr.  Pendleton,"  says  Mrs.  P.,  after  her 
husband  had  seated  himself  at  the  fire,  with  Mary 
on  one  knee  and  little  Sammy  on  the  other,  "  I 
have  nothing  more  to  say  against  your  insuring  your 
life,  for  Mr.  Goodlove  has  made  it  so  plainly  your 
duty,  that  I  am  sure  you  would  not  heed  it  if  I 
did  continue  my  objections  ;  and  now,  as  we  have 
been  obliged  to  mortgage  our  farm  to  raise  money 
to  repair  the  house,  and  build  a  new  barn,  I  do 
think  we  ought,  for  the  sake  of  our  children,  try 
and  secure  ourselves  against  a  calamity  which,  I  pray 
God  in  his  mercy,  may  be  long  averted." 

"  Yes,  my  dear,"  replied  Mr.  Pendleton,  "  we  are 
all  mortals,  and  the  scene  of  to-day  should  remind 
us  of  the  shortness  and  uncertainty  of  human  life, 
and  that  in  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death  ;  and 
I  am  very  glad  that  anything  our  good  minister 
has  said  has  been  the  means  of  reconciling  you  to 
approve  of  my  insuring  my  life  for  your  own  and 
our  children's  benefit ;  for  you  know  I  dislike  to 
oppose  in  anything  reasonable.  I  did  oppose  you 


A    MONTH    IN    A    COUNTRY    PARISH.  35 

about  the  insuring  our  bam,  and  the  result  has  been 
disastrous  to  us.  But,  as  I  was  saying,  I  am  glad 
you  have  consented  to  approve  of  my  insuring  my 
life." 

"  My  dear  husband,  why  do  you  say  approve.  I 
am  sure  I  should  be  very  sorry  to  disapprove  ef  any 
course  you,  in  your  superior  judgment,  deem  fit  to 
pursue.  Why  do  you  use  the  word  approve,  hus- 
band ?" 

"  It  is  because  I  have  already  done  that  which  it 
is  now  too  late  to  recommend ;  and,  therefore,  I  say 
I  am  glad  you  are  prepared  to  approve  of  my  act." 

Tears  of  affection  burst  forth  from  the  eyes  of  our 
hardy  farmer,  as  he  pulled  from  his  pocket  the  great 
sheet  of  parchment,  and  displayed  it  to  the  wonder- 
ing eyes  of  his  astonished  wife.  He  now  recited  all 
the  circumstances  in  relation  to  his  "  exercise  of 
mind "  about  this  insurance  ;  his  talk  with  the  Judge, 
and  his  appointment  for  another  interview ;  how  he 
could  not  wait,  &c. ;  all  of  which  was  very  amusing 
to  the  loving  wife.  The  children  had  to  look  at  the 
picture  of  the  globe  delineated  at  the  top  of  the  docu- 
ment, and  asked  a  hundred  questions  regarding  the 
emblematical  devices,  and  the  legends  engraved  oil 
the  policy.  "  What  does  finis  Coronal  Opus  mean, 
father  V  asked  Granger,  a  smart  lad  of  ten  years. 
"  That  means,  the  agent  told  me,  that  the  end 
crowns  the  work  ;  that  is,  when  we  do,  while  we 


36  GEORGE    CARDWELL  ;     OR, 

live,  what  is  proper  and  right,  when  we  come  to 
die,  which  is  our  end,  then  the  work  we  have  done 
will  be  crowned,  or  be  rewarded."  They  could  not 
understand  about  the  talk  between  papa  and  mamma, 
nor  could  they  reconcile  the  smiles  of  approval  of 
their  mother  with  the  tears  and  sobs  of  their  father. 
Poor  tilings,  they  will  know  all  about  such  matters 
soon  enough ! 

Mr.  Pendleton  was  a  devout  man,  and  after  he 
had  carefully  placed  his  newly-acquired  treasure  in 
his  tin  box,  where  he  kept  his  valuable  papers,  he 
called,  as  was  his  custom,  his  family  around  him  for 
evening  devotion.  With  a  heart  full  of  kindly  emo- 
tions, and  a  sense  of  having  done  a  duty,  not  only 
to  his  family  but  to  his  God,  he  committed  him- 
self and  family  through  the  dark  hours  of  the  night 
to  the  care  of  an  all-seeing  and  protecting  Providence, 
with  a  prayer  that,  amid  the  manifold  changes  and 
chances  of  this  mortal  life,  they  might  be  defended 
by  His  ready  help,  and  that  they  may  always  so 
live  that  they  may  never  be  afraid  to  die. 

The  morrow  saw  our  friend  Mr.  Pendleton  on  his 
way  to  the  Judge's  mansion,  with  his  policy  of  in- 
surance, feeling  more  like  a  man  and  a  Christian 
than  he  had  ever  felt  before.  And  why  should  he 
not  ?  He  was  not  afraid  to  die !  Why  should  he 
be? 


A   MONTH   IN   A    COUNTRY   PARISH.  37 


CHAPTER    V. 

"  GOOD  morning,  Judge  ;  I  suppose  I'm  rather 
early,  but  I  was  anxious  to  have  that  matter  settled 
about  that  Life  Insurance,  and  so  I  have  come  to 
have  that  talk." 

"  Not  at  all  too  early  ;  good  morning.  I'm  glad 
you  have  come  so  early,  as  I  am  quite  at  leisure  : 
walk  into  my  library, — take  a  seat  by  the  table, 
while  I  hand  down  some  books  on  the  subject  :  you 
know  we  lawyers  like  to  be  backed  by  authority. 
Are  you  aware,  Mr.  Pendleton,  that  this  matter  of 
Life  Insurance  is  no  new  thing  under  the  sun  1 
Here  is  an  old  worm-eaten  book,  nearly  a  hundred 
years  old,  three  hundred  pages,  all  on  the  subject  of 
Life  Insurance." 

"  No,  Judge  ;  I  was  not  aware  that  Life  Insurance 
had  so  remote  a  beginning.  I  supposed  it  was  of 
comparative  recent  origin." 

"  No,  sir ;  it  is  quite  of  ancient  date,  but  only 
recently  introduced  into  this  country,  and  made  avail- 
able to  almost  all  classes.  We  will  not,  however, 


38  6EORGE    CARDWELL  ;     OR, 

at  this  time,  follow  its  history,  but  at  once  proceed 
to  the  main  points,  and  explain  the  operation  of  the 
system,  or  rather  science ;  for  it  is  a  science,  Mr. 
Pendleton,  an  exact  science,  depending  upon  certain 
natural  laws,  as  immutable  as  death.  Able  men, — 
men  of  great  skill  in  mathematics, — have  devoted 
their  lives  to  the  subject,  and  the  results  of  'their 
investigation  is  bringing  about  blessings  to  thousands 
of  families  that  otherwise  would  have  been  sunk  in 
poverty  and  crime. 

"  Here  is  a  book  which  treats  of  the  duration  of 
human  life,  with  tables  of  mortality,  showing  how 
long  men,  at  every  age,  live  on  an  average.  These 
are  the  tables  by  which  the  premiums  for  insurance 
are  calculated.  When  we  know  how  long  men  will 
live  on  an  average,  it  is  easy  to  tell  how  much 
money  ought  be  laid  aside,  or  put  into  a  common 
fund,  every  year,  to  amount  to  a  certain  sum  at  the 
death  of  any  one  of  the  lives  in  a  community,  making 
up  the  element  of  common  average.  In  common  life 
each  person  is  but  an  individual,  and  in  thafc  capacity 
cannot  tell  when  he  may  be  called  upon  to  give  an 
account  of  his  stewardship.  This  uncertainty  as  regards 
the  individual  is  neutralized  when  many  individuals 
are  associated  for  a  common  object,  like  that  of  Life 
Insurance,  securing  to  each  atom  of  the  mass  an 
equal  share  of  the  advantages  secured  by  the  whole. 
In  other  words,  investigation  and  close  research  has 


A    MONTH   IN    A    COUNTRY   PARISH.  39 

resulted  in  a  knowledge  of  how  long  a  body  of  men 
of  any  given  age  live  on  an  average,  some  living  a 
shorter  time  and  some  longer.  We,  therefore,  know 
how  long  they  live  as  a  class,  and  can,  from  such 
data,  safely  calculate  how  much  each  should  contri- 
bute to  secure  a  certain  sum  at  the  death  of  any 
of  that  body.  A  great  many  ways  have  been  de- 
vised for  making  available  to  all  classes  the  great 
advantages  of  Life  Insurance.  Some  engage  to  pay 
an  annual  premium, — this  is  the  jmost  common  mode  ; 
some  pay  in  one  sum,  and  some  in  a  specific  num- 
ber of  payments,  say  five  or  ten ;  some  insure  by 
depositing  a  certain  sum,  with  the  liberty  to  with- 
draw all  the  deposits,  and  still  have  a  small  insu- 
rance left  them. 

"  I  insure  my  life,  and  pay  the  premium  in  annual 
payments,  in  cash,  as  I  can  well  spare  the  money  ; 
but  some  who  are  engaged  in  active  business,  and 
who  need  all  the  money  they  tian  command  in  their 
business,  and  yet  are  desirous  of  securing  a  consider- 
able amount  of  insurance,  pay  two  thirds  of  the  annual 
premium  in  cash,  and  for  the  other  third  take  a 
loan,  which  they  propose  taking  up  when  their  busi- 
ness will  allow  the  withdrawal  of  a  portion  of 
their  active  funds.  This  is  a  very  good  plan  for  such, 
and  tends  largely  to  extend  the  benefits  of  the  system. 

"  What  is  your  age,  Mr.  Pendleton  ?  Let  us  see 
how  much  it  will  cost  you  for  an  insurance  on  your 


40  GEORGE  CARDWELL;   OR, 

life,  say  for  two  thousand  dollars ;  that  is  the  amount, 
I  believe,  of  the  mortgage  on  your  farm,  and  I 
always  think  it  a  good  plan  to  insure  for  enough  to 
pay  off  the  mortgage, — that  is,  if  one  has  been  com- 
pelled to  make  one, — and  thus  leave  the  home  clear 
and  unencumbered  to  the  wife  and  children." 

"  Well,  Judge,  I  am  just  forty  years  old  this 
month ;  but,  Judge,  why  would  it  not  be  a  good 
plan  to  insure  for  a  little  more  than  the  mortgage1?" 

"  It  would,  my  friend,  be  a  very  good  plan  to  do 
so,  provided  you  can  meet  the  premium  without 
difficulty." 

"  Of  course,  Judge,  one  must  be  careful,  and  not 
cramp  himself  too  much  ;  but  would  it  not  be  a 
good  plan,  when  it  can  be  done,  to  insure  for,  say 
five  hundred  dollars  more  than  the  mortgage,  as  that 
would  give  the  family  a  little  ready  cash  to  help  in 
settling  the  estate?" 

"  Well  thought  of,  Mr.  Pendleton.  I  have,  as 
Judge  of  Probate,  known  several  estates  suffer  great 
loss  for  the  want  of  five  hundred  dollars  in  ready 
money  ;  and  I  have  known  the  families  of  rich  men 
positively  suffer  for  the  want  of  a  little  ready  cash, 
just  at  the  time  when,  although  possessed  of  a  large 
property,  they  could  not  control  it.  Well  thought 
of,  Mr.  Pendleton.  Now,  then,  let  us  see  what  it 
will  cost  to  insure  your  life,  for  when  you  see  how 
little  outlay  will  secure  so  large  a  sum  as  twenty- 


A   MONTH   IN   A    COUNTRY    PARISH.  41 

five  hundred  dollars,  I  am  sure  you  will  not  hesitate 
to  say  you  will  insure  your  life.  Age  forty  years, 
one  thousand  costs  thirty-two  dollars ;  two  thousand, 
sixty-four  dollars ;  five  hundred,  sixteen  dollars ;  in 
all,  eighty  dollars ;  just  even  money.  Now,  Mr. 
Pendleton,  don't  you  think  it  best  to  insure  your 
life  at  once1?" 

"  Yes,  Judge,  I  do ;  and,  to  prove  my  sincerity,  I 
will  thank  you  to  look  at  this  piece  of  parchment." 
"  Oh,  oh  !  my  friend,  a  pious  fraud.  First  go 
and  do  as  your  conscience  dictates,  and  then  come 
and  get  my  opinion.  I  have  half  a  mind  to  charge 
you  a  legal  fee  !  But,  seriously,  Mr.  Pendleton,  I 
am  gratified,  for  I  see  it  is  of  recent  date — but 
yesterday.  '  If  'twere  done  when  'tis  done,  then 
'twere  well  it  were  done  quickly,'  I  see  is  your 
motto." 

"  Yes,  Judge,  that  is  my  motto  ;  and  I  have  acted 
upon  it.  I  never  let  the  grass  grow  under  my  feet 
when  I  have  a  duty  to  perform.  The  quiet  sleep 
of  last  night,  and  the  joy  I  now  feel,  have  quite 
compensated  me  for  the  cost  of  that  policy.  I  feel 
that  I  have  recovered  my  youth,  and  taken  a  new 
lease  of  life  ;  and  now,  so  far  as  my  wife  and 
children  are  concerned,  as  regards  the  possession  of 
the  farm,  I  have  no  fear  of  the  "pestilence  that 
walketh  in  darkness,  nor  for  the  sickness  that  de- 
stroyeth  at  noon-day.'  My  hand  is  nerved  for  re- 


42  GEORGE   CAEDWELL  ;     OB, 

newed  action.  I  can  face  difficulties  with  a  good 
courage,  and  sing  lustily  for  the  very  joy  of  my 
heart." 

"  My  good  friend,  you  are  eloquent ;  it  does  my 
heart  good  to  listen  to  you.  I  forgive  you  for  the 
fraud  practised  on  me,  and  wish  you  joy  in  your 
new  acquisition !" 

"  Acquisition  you  may  well  call  it,  Judge,  for  I 
esteem  my  policy  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  good 
as  so  much  money  in  the  Savings  Bank, — perhaps 
better.  If  I  had  so  much  money  in  the  Bank  I 
might  be  tempted  to  use  it  in  some  inviting  specu- 
lation, and  hazard  every  dollar.  And,  although  I  am 
not  of  a  speculative  turn  of  mind,  I  must  confess  I 
have  been  sorely  tempted  to  get  a  living  in  some 
easier  mode  than  working  our  rocky  soil,  and  have 
often  wished  I  had  a  few  hundred  dollars  to  try  my 
hand  at  some  speculation.  Now,  with  this  Policy  of 
Insurance,  the  craving  speculating  demon  is  kept 
down.  TIME,  that  important  element  of  accumula- 
tion, is  gained.  We  don't  hasten  to  get  rich,  but 
are  satisfied  with  well-doing — knowing  that  in  time 
we  shall  surely  accumulate  if  we  faint  not.  By  this 
Policy  of  Insurance  I  am  assured  of  time ;  I  am 
not  assured  of  my  life, — the  title  is  a  misnomer.  It 
should  be  called  a  Time  Insurance  Policy  ;  for  it 
guarantees  to  my  family  the  time  necessary  to  acquire 
a  competency — for  should  God,  in  his  wisdom,  not 


A    MONTH   IN   A   COUNTRY   PARISH.  43 

allow  me  the  time  to  accomplish  certain  ends,  He  has 
endowed  me  with  a  mind  to  appreciate,  and  a  will 
to  procure  for  my  family  an  equivalent  compensation 
for  that  time  in  the  Policy  of  Assurance  on  my  time 
of  this  mortal  pilgrimage.  Take  away,  Judge,  this 
zeal  to  get  rich  fast,  and  the  risks  in  business  would 
in  most  cases  cease.  The  great  wealth  of  the  few, 
and  the  poverty  of  the  masses,  "would,  to  a  great 
extent,  be  modified.  Prudence  and  thrift  would  every- 
where be  seen,  and  the  world  would  be  wiser  and 
better." 

"  Without  doubt,  Mr.  Pendleton,  such  would  be 
the  result  of  a  general  and  systematic  adoption  of 
the  benefits  of  the  institution  of  Life  Insurance. 
Would  that  all  could  take  the  enlarged  and  human- 
izing view  of  the  subject  that  you  do.  You  came 
here  to  be  taught  of  me.  Surely,  sir,  I  am  the 
pupil,  and  you  the  teacher.  The  science,  sir,  I  may 
understand,  but  the  application  of  that  science  to  the 
every-day  wants  of  man,  as  we  find  them,  I  confess 
I  have  yet  to  learn.  You,  sir,  speak  as  by  inspi- 
ration." 

"  Inspiration  !  the  subject  is  a  holy  one,  and  cal- 
culated to  infuse  a  holy  fire  in  the  heart  and  soul 
of  all  who  have  the  true  heart  of  flesh.  To  the 
stony  heart,  and  him  who  careth  not  for  his  own — 
he  who  is  denounced  as  worse  than  an  infidel — for 
such  it  hath  no  charms  ;  on  the  hearts  of  such  it 


44  GEORGE    CARDWELL ;     OR, 

hath  no  potency.  God  grant  that  the  great  sin  of 
the  parent  may  not  be  visited  upon  the  children." 

"  Amen." 

"  Good   morning,   Judge." 

"  Good  morning,   my   good   friend." 

The  man  of  law  and  the  farmer  parted,  each  in  a 
happy  frame  of  mind,  and  each  determined  to  make 
a  new  effort  for  the  furtherance  of  the  good  work 
of  Life  Insurance. 

And  what  good  can  every  man  accomplish  with 
but  a  little  effort.  All  men  have  more  or  less  in- 
fluence, and  if  each  would  but  exert  that  influence  on 
but  one  person  in  this  direction,  what  vast  numbers 
would  flock  to  the  insurance  offices,  and  how  num- 
berless would  be  the  blessings  invoked  upon  the 
heads  of  those  who  were  instrumental  in  urging  to  a 
consummation  these  numerous  insurances.  What  oceans 
of  tears  would  be  saved  to  the  widowed  mother  ! 
What  a  world  of  anguish  would  be  assuaged  !  What 
songs  of  joy  would  go  forth  from  the  dwellings  of 
the  land  !  What  rejoicing  among  the  angels  of  heaven 
for  the  virtue  guaranteed  to  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  the  earth  ! 


A   MONTH   IN   A    COUNTRY   PARISH.  45 

V 


CHAPTER    VI. 

LET  us  now  look  in  at  the  house  of  the  widowed 
mother,  but  not  with  idle  curiosity.  Grief  is  a  holy 
thing,  and  to  mourn  for  those  we  have  loved  is  to 
be  esteemed  a  privilege.  Say  not  to  the  crushed 
heart,  "  Do  not  weep."  The  grave  of  Lazarus  was 
wet  with  the  tears  of  the  "  PRINCE  OF  THE  HOUSE 
OF  DAVID."  Weep,  therefore,  daughters  of  sorrow, 
else  would  your  hearts  burst,  and  your  life  be  crushed 
beneath  its  load  of  anguish. 

Mrs.  Card  well  is  just  such  a  woman  as  such  a 
husband  as  George  Cardwell  would  be  supposed  to 
have  for  a  wife.  Affectionate  and  confiding,  and 
wholly  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  her  husband  and 
children,  the  sudden  blow  which  had  come  upon  her 
had  well  nigh  extinguished  her  earthly  light,  and  her 
sorrow  was  of  the  deepest  shade.  But  her  sorrow 
vas  not  as  of  one  without  hope,  for  as  the  six  feet 
of  solid  earth  which  her  kind  neighbors  had  the  day 


46  GEORGE    CARDWELL  ;     OR, 

previous  gently  cast  upon  the  body  of  her  husband, 
was  but  as  crystal  to  her  eyes  of  love,  so  her  eyes 
of  faith  saw  far  off  in  the  starry  heavens  the  dis- 
embodied spirit  of  the  father  of  her  children. 

Mrs.  Cardwell  was  a  well  educated  and  exceedingly 
intelligent  woman,  of  excellent  judgment,  and  of  deep 
religious  feeling,  and  without  doubt  'exerted  no  little 
influence  on  the  mind  of  her  late  husband.  George 
Cardwell  was  not  a  man  to  despise  the  counsel  of 
his  wife  ;  and  the  more  so,  inasmuch  as  his  wife 
was  not  a  woman  who  attempted  to  control  or  urge 
a  measure  not  sustained  by  good  sound  sense,  and 
made  plain  and  irresistible  by  a  happy  and  affec- 
tionate manner. 

It  was  Mrs.  Cardwell  who  first  suggested  the  sub- 
ject of  an  insurance  on  the  life  of  her  husband.  Not 
until  she  had  well  considered  the  matter  in  all  its 
bearings  did  she  broach  the  subject.  Her  own  father 
had  an  insurance  on  his  life  ;  and  when  she  was  left 
fatherless,  her  education  depended  mainly  on  the  in- 
come derived  from  that  source.  But  what  will  he 
think  should  I  suggest  such  a  thing  1  Will  he  think 
I  am  selfish,  and  desire  it  for  my  own  sake  ?  Oh ! 
that  he  would  but  suggest  it  to  me,  and  relieve  me 
of  a  painful  duty.  Yes,  duty.  But,  then,  men  have 
so  much  to  occupy  their  attention,  and  so  little 
time  to  think  of  such  things,  that  it's  no  wonder  he 
does  not  think  of  it.  Is  it  my  duty  to  speak  to 


A   MONTH   IN   A    COUNTRY    PARISH.  47 

him  ?  If  it  is,  why  should  I  hesitate  ?  Do  I  do 
my  husband  justice  in  thus  procrastinating  and  putting 
in  jeopardy  every  day  the  welfare  of  our  dear  chil- 
dren 1  Do  I  not  but  illy  appreciate  his  love  for  me 
and  these  little  ones  in  thus  fearing  to  speak  to  him, 
who  has  never  refused  compliance  with  a  reasonable 
request  ?" 

These  and  many  other  such  reflections  were,  for  a 
long  time,  passing  in  the  mind  of  Mrs.  Cardwell  ; 
but  such  a  mind  could  not  always  resist  the  urgings 
of  duty. 

Mr.  Cardwell  received  the  proposition  with  great 
deference  for  the  opinions  of  his  wife,  and  gave  the 
subject  such  thought  as  a  solid,  sensible  man  should 
bestow  upon  any  business  matter.  The  result  was, 
that  he  effected  an  insurance  on  his  life,  as  has  been 
found  by  the  Judge  ;  and  more,  he  felt  under  a  load 
of  obligations  to  his  wife  for  the  performance  of  her 
duty  ;  though  he  felt  like  scolding  her  for  a  want 
of  promptness  in  not  earlier  urging  the  measure  which, 
since  its  consummation,  had  furnished  him  with  so 
much  consolation. 

Three  weeks  has  now  passed  since  the  grave  closed 
over  the  remains  of  George  Cardwell. 

One  sheet  of  fleecy  snow  has  rested  on  the  little 
mound  in  the  distant  churchyard. 

The  widow  has  just  returned  from  the  village, 
Where  she  has  been  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the 


•48  GEORGE  CARD-WELL;    OR, 

money  for  the  insurance  on  the  life  of  her  departed 
husband,  and  of  paying  off  the  mortgage  on  her 
farm. 

What  a  day  of  grief  has  this  been  to  the  late 
happy  wife,  and  yet  not  entirely  without  relief  to 
the  stricken  heart  of  Lucy  Card  well.  She  was  too 
well  schooled  in  her  religious  duty  and  faith  to 
think  that  the  trials  she  was  now  passing  through 
were  other  than  for  good.  The  memory  of  her  de- 
parted husband  was  sweet ;  and  as  he,  in  his  time, 
had  done  so  much  to  provide  for  those  he  left  be- 
hind, what  pleasure  would  she  not  experience  in 
carrying  out  his  designs. 

Judge  Mason  had  accompanied  Mrs.  Cardwell  to 
the  village,  and  lent  his  aid  in  settling  the  policy  of 
insurance  and  obtaining  a'  proper  satisfaction  of  the 
mortgage  ;  and  when  he  put  the  widow  down  at  her 
door,  from  his  own  gig,  she  not  only  had  a  clean 
deed  of  the  farm  but  a  certificate  of  deposit  for 
twelve  hundred  dollars. 

This  sum,  although  small,  was  quite  sufficient  for 
all  their  purposes.  With  a  small  but  good  farm, 
free  from  encumbrance  of  any  kind,  and  with  money 
at  interest,  this  little  family  are  as  comfortably  off 
as  possible. 

The  mother,  possessed  of  an  education  beyond  the 
common  grade,  does  much  to  aid  her  children  in  their 
lessons. 


A   MONTH    IN    A   COUNTRY   PARISH.  49 

George  is  past  eleven  years  old,  and  does  a  great 
deal  towards  assisting  his  mother  in  the  affairs  of 
the  farm,  which,  by-the-by,  needs  at  this  season  but 
little  attention,  everything  having  been  but  recently 
put  into  winter  quarters  with  great  care  by  his 
father. 

Sarah,  a  gii'l  nine  years  old,  is  of  service  in-doors, 
in  aiding  her  mother  in  the  care  of  her  younger 
brothers  and  sisters. 

An  air  of  Christian  resignation  is  manifest  through- 
out the  well-ordered  household,  which  tells,  far  more 
emphatically  than  words,  of  that  peace  of  mind 
which  a  conscientious  performance  of  duty  always  en- 
genders. 

3 


50  GEORGE    CARDWELL ;     OR, 


CHAPTER    VII. 

WE  should  have  been  pleased  to  close  our  month 
in  the  country  in  the  quiet  home  of  the  Widow 
Cardwell,  but  the  faithful  historian  of  the  events  of 
this  short  period  must  needs  leave  that  comparatively 
humble  dwelling,  and  look  in  upon  the  group  which 
surrounds  the  couch  of  that  good  friend  of  every- 
body, Judge  Mason. 

The  Judge  had,  for  some  two  years,  been  a  great 
sufferer  from  a  diseased  liver.  He  had  but  recently 
returned  from  a  visit  to  Europe,  undertaken  for  the 
benefit  of  his  health,  having  experienced  great  benefit 
from  travel,  and,  as  was  supposed  by  himself  and 
his  physician,  an  entire  restoration  to  his  wonted 
health. 

Unusual  exposure,  during  one  of  his  visits  to  an 
indigent  neighbor,  had  resulted  in  a  vigorous  attack 
of  his"  former  disease,  under  which  he  rapidly  sank, 
and,  after  an  illness  of  three  days,  terminated  his 
career  of  usefulness  on  earth,  to  the  great  loss  of 


A   MONTH    IV   A    COUNTRY    PARISH.  51 

all   his  neighbors,   and   especially  to   those  who  needed 
his   counsel   and   kind   words   of  encouragement. 

Judge  Mason  was  a  widower,  with  one  daughter 
and  three  grand-children — two  boys  and  one  girl — 
orphan  children  of  his  son,  John  Marshall  Mason. 

As  has  been  before  stated,  he  was  possessed  of  a 
moderate  fortune  in  his  own  right,  with  a  life-interest 
in  the  estate  on  which  he  resided  ;  which  estate  fell 
to  his  daughter,  now  a  maiden  lady  of  fifty,  who, 
also,  was  in  the  receipt  of  an  annuity  of  some  eight 
hundred  dollars  from  the  North  America  Life  Insurance 
Company  of  New  York,  settled  upon  her  by  her 
father,  when  he  had  good  reason  to  suppose  she  had 
reached  her  highest  point  of  attraction,  without  having 
conquered  a  solitary  heart.  Nancy  Mason  was  better 
than  she  looked  ;  and,  notwithstanding  her  lack  of 
personal  beauty,  she  was  loved  by  all  her  neighbors, 
among  whom  she  spent  much  of  her  time,  when  not 
engaged  with  her  orphan  charge  at  home,  in  works  of 
love  and  charity  ;  a  fit  daughter  of  such  a  sire. 

In  the  will  of  Judge  Mason  he  gave  to  his  three 
grand-children  all  his  personal  estate,  amounting  to 
some  thirty  thousand  dollars,  and  two  policies  of  in- 
surance on  his  life  for  ten  thousand  dollars  each  ; 
and  to  the  parish  school  the  proceeds  of  another 
policy  for  five  thousand  dollars.  • 

Thus  ended  a  long  life  of  usefulness  and  Christian 
benevolence.  The  same  organ  whose  solemn  peal 


52  GEORGE  CARDWELL;   OR, 

shook  the  atmosphere  of  the  village  church  but  one 
month  ago,  as  the  funeral  procession  entered  its  doors 
with  the  body  of  George  Cardwell,  the  humble  farmer, 
gave  forth  now  the  same  sound.  The  same  invisible 
choir  were  heard  to  chant  the  same  words  ;  and  the 
words,  "  dust  to  dust,  ashes  to  ashes,  earth  to  earth," 
are  followed  with  the  same  mingling  of  elements  at 
the  obsequies  of  Judge  Mason. 

"  Our  mother,  the  Church,  hath  never  a  child 

To  honor  before  the  rest, 
But  she  singeth  the  same  for  mighty  kings 

And  the  veriest  babe  on  her  breast ; 
And  the  bishop  goes  down  to  his  narrow  bed 

As  the  ploughman's  child  is  laid, 
And  alike  she  blesseth  the  dark-browed  serf 

And  the  chief  in  his  robe  arrayed." 


The  following  legislative  enactments  regarding  Life 
Insurance  were  made  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  during  the  Session  of  1866,  and  stri- 
kingly illustrate  the  disposition  of  the  public  mind  to 
foster  and  protect  the  interests  of  all  who  may  seek 
pecuniary  protection  for  their  families  by  the  instru- 
mentality of  Life  Insurance.  The  act  exempting  from 
claim,  by  creditors  of  the  husband,  the  amount  of  a 
policy  issued  in  behalf  of  the  wife,  or  wife  and  chil- 
dren, or  the  children,  in  the  event  of  the  death  of  the 
wife  before  the  decease  of  the  husband,  is  a  most 
liberal  provision,  and,  were  the  law  more  extensively 
known,  would  be  more  appreciated.  So,  also,  is  the  act 
authorizing  Special  Deposits  of  Government  Securities 
in  the  Insurance  Department  one  of  the  first  impor- 
tance, as  rendering  absolutely  secure  all  the  money 
paid  by  the  provident  husband  and  parent. 

This  system  of  governmental  supervision,  guaran- 
teeing the  obligations  of  Life  Insurance  Companies,  is 
a  desideratum  long  hoped  for,  but  until  now  never 


54  APPENDIX. 

accomplished.  In  England,  where  Life  Insurance  is 
more  generally  practised  than  elsewhere,  attempts  have 
been  made  to  induce  Parliament  to  enact  similar 
laws,  but  owing  to  the  opposition  of  those  Companies 
who  were  unwilling  to  submit  to  thevequisitions  of 
the  Government  actuary,  the  measure  was  defeated. 
The  work  was  left  for  the  Legislature  of  the  State 
of  New  York  to  authorize.  No  longer  need  distrust 
and  doubt  hinder  those  who  would  seek  security  for 
their  families  by  means  of  Life  Insurance,  or  those  who, 
possessing  a  moderate  share  of  property,  would,  by 
means  of  an  Annuity,  secure  the  largest  possible  re- 
venue while  they  shall  live,  or  have  capacity  to  en- 
joy the  advantages  of  any  income. 

AN    ACT 

TO  AUTHORIZE  THE  NORTH  AMERICA  LIFE  INSURANCE 
COMPANY  TO  MAKE  SPECIAL  DEPOSITS  OF  SECURITIES 
IN  THE  INSURANCE  DEPARTMENT. 

The   People   of  the   State   of  New    York,    represented  in 
Senate  and  Assembly,  do  enact  as  follows : 

SECTION  1.  The  North  America  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany may  deposit  in  the  Insurance  Department  secu- 
rities, now  authorized  by  law  to  be  deposited  by  Life 
Insurance  Companies  in  that  Department,  to  any  amount 
not  less  than  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  for  the  pur- 
poses hereinafter  mentioned. 


APPENDIX.  55 

SEC.  2.  Whenever  the  said  Company  shall  legally 
transfer  to  the  Superintendent  of  the  Insurance  De- 
partment any  amount  of  said  securities  not  less  than 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  he  shall  issue  to  the 
said  Company  ibgistered  policies  of  insurance,  or  an- 
nuity bonds,  of  such  denominations  or  amounts  as  the 
said  Company  may  require.  Such  policies  and  an- 
nuity bonds  shall  bear  upon  their  face  the  words, 
"  Secured  by  pledge  of  public  stocks  or  bonds  and 
mortgages,"  with  the  seal  of  the  said  Department,  and 
shall  be  countersigned  by  -  the  Superintendent  or  his 
authorized  Deputy. 

SEC.  3.  The  said  Superintendent  shall,  on  deliver- 
ing said  registered  policies  or  annuity  bonds  to  said 
Company,  charge  to  said  Company  the  amount  of  the 
net  present  value  of  such  policies  or  annuity  bonds, 
valued  by  the  Carlisle  table  of  mortality,  with  inte- 
rest at  five  per  centum  per  annum,  according  to  the 
amount  and  number  of  premiums  paid  thereon  and 
the  terms  thereof;  but  in  no  case  shall  the  amount 
of  such  value  exceed  in  the  aggregate  the  amount  of 
the  securities  deposited  under  the  provisions  of  this 
act.  On  the  first  day  of  January  and  July  of  each 
and  every  year,  or  within  thirty  days  thereafter,  the 
said  Company  shall  make  a  return  to  the  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Insurance  Department,  under  oath  of 
the  President  and  Actuary,  of  the  exact  condition  of 
the  premium  account  of  the  registered  policies  re- 
ceived from  the  said  department,  and  shall  deposit 
with  the  said  Superintendent  additional  and  similar 
securities,  to  an  amount  equal  to  any  increase  of 
value  of  the  policies  heretofore  issued,  and  which 


50  APPENDIX. 

shall  remain  in  force,  valued  by  the  same  rule  as 
upon  the  issue  thereof;  and  the  securities  thus  from 
time  to  time  deposited  shall  be  held  by  the  Super- 
intendent in  trust,  until  the  obligations  of  the  said 
North  America  Life  Insurance  Company,  under  said 
registered  policies  and  annuity  bonds  shall,  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  said  Superintendent,  be  fully  liqui- 
dated, canceled  or  annulled. 

SEC.  4.  The  said  Company  may  at  any  time  with- 
draw any  excess  of  securities  above  the  net  present 
value  hereinbefore  specified,  upon  satisfying  the  said 
Superintendent  by  written  proof,  to  be  filed  in  the 
said  Department,  that  such  excess  exists  ;  and  shall 
be  allowed  to  receive  the  interest  on  all  securities 
deposited,  and  to  exchange  such  securities  by  substi- 
tuting other  securities,  as  now  provided  by  the  acts 
in  relation  to  Life  and  Health  Insurance  Companies 
and  the  amendments  thereto. 

SEC.  5.  The  said  Company  shall  deliver  to  the 
Superintendent  of  the  Insurance  Department  the  policy 
and  annuity  fconds,  engraved  and-  printed,  or  printed 
and  written,  in  such  manner  as  the  said  Department 
shall  direct.  On  their  receipt  by  the  Superintendent  he 
shall  cause  them  to  be  duly  registered,  in  proper  books 
kept  for  that  purpose,  in  consecutive  numbers,  cor- 
responding to  the  numbers  on  said  policies  and  bonds  ; 
shall  cause  his  name,  or  the  name  of  his  Deputy  to 
be  inscribed  on  the  policies  and  bonds,  and  affix  the 
seal  of  the  Department  to  the  same,  and  shall  return 
them  to  the  said  Company.  The  expenses  necessarily 
incurred  in  registering,  countersigning,  and  sealing  the 


APPENDIX.  57 

said  policies  and  annuity  bonds,  and  in  otherwise  exe- 
cuting the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  be  audited  and 
settled  by  the  said  Superintendent,  and  paid  out  of 
any  moneys  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropri- 
ated ;  and,  for  the  purpose  of  reimbursing  the  same, 
the  said  Superintendent  is  hereby  authorized  to  charge 
against  the  said  Company  an  amount  sufficient  for 
such  purpose,  and  as  may  be  just  and  reasonable.  It 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  Superintendent  to  re- 
ceive mutilated  policies  and  annuity  bonds  issued  to 
the  said  Company,  and  deliver  in  lieu  thereof  other 
policies  and  bonds  of  like  tenor  and  date. 

SEC.   6.    This  act   shall   take  effect  immediately. 


The   People  of  the    State   of  New    York,  represented  in 
Senate   and  Assembly,   do   enact  as  follows  : 

SEC.  1.  It  shall  be  lawful  for  any  married  wo* 
man,  by  herself  and  in  her  name,  or  in  the  name 
of  any  third  person,  with  his  assent,  as  her  trustee, 
to  cause  to  be  insured,  for  her  sole  use,  the  life  of 
her  husband,  for  any  definite  period,  or  for  the  term 
of  his  natural  life  ;  and  in  case  of  her  surviving  such 
period  or  terms,  the  sum  or  net  amount  of  the  in- 
surance becoming  due  and  payable  by  the  terms  of 
the  insurance  shall  be  payable  to  her,  to  and  for  her 
own  use,  free  from  the  claims  of  the  representatives 
of  the  husband,  or  any  of  his  creditors,  but  such  ex- 
emption shall  not  apply  where  the  amount  of  pre- 
mium annually  paid  out  of  the  funds  or  property  of 
the  husband  shall  exceed  three  hundred  dollars. 

3* 


58  APPENDIX. 

SEC.  2.  The  amount  of  the  insurance  may  be  made 
payable,  in  case  of  the  death  of  the  wife  before  the 
period  at  which  it  becomes  due,  to  her  husband,  or 
to  his.  her  or  their  children,  for  their  use,  as  shall 
be  provided  in  the  policy  of  insurance,  and  to  their 
guardian,  if  under  age.  . 

SEC.  3.    This  act   shall   take   effect   immediately. 


Statistics  of  the  Life  Insurance  Companies  doing  busi- 
ness in  the  State  of  New  York,  as  Returned  to  the 
Superintendent  of  the  Insurance  Department,  for  1865  : 

Number  of  lives  insured  during  the  year 8G,261 

Total  amount  insured $245,427,057  00 

Number  of  deaths  among  the  insured 1,580 

Total  amount   insured  by  the  policies $4,233,281  00 

Total  amount  paid  to  widows,   orphans  and  other 

claimants $4,206  019  52 

Number  of  persons  insured 219,319 

Total  amount  insured $580,882,253  46 

A  sum  equal  to  one  fifth  of  the  American  National  Debt. 


KSCRAKCE  OF  THE  LIVES  OF  CLERGYMEN. 


THE  insurance  of  the  lives  of  clergymen,  by  their 
people,  is  a  subject  demanding  earnest  attention.  It 
should  be  the  uniform  and  settled  policy  of  every 
congregation  of  Christian  worshippers,  when  they  have 
installed  over  them  a  minister,  to  insure  his  life  for 
the  benefit  of  his  family.  The  cost  is  but  little,  and 
should  be  cheerfully  borne  by  the  people.  He  preaches 
but  to  little  effect,  who  does  not  soon  make  his  people 
understand  their  duty  in  this  respect.  It  is  useless  for  him 
to  endeavor  to  teach  them,  that  it  is  "ordained  that 
they  who  preach  the  Gospel  should  live  of  the  Gospel." 
The  Committee  of  Convention  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  in  the  Diocese  of  New- York,  having  the  matter 
of  Parochial  Support  in  charge,  in  their  report,  recom- 
mended an  adoption  of  a  measure  haviug  in  view  the 
insurance  on  the  lives  of  the  rectors.  This  is  as  it  should 
be,  and  especially  as  the  Canons  of  the  Church  forbid 
secular  employment  to  its  clergy. 


A     000040137     2 


